Spraying method and apparatus

ABSTRACT

A method and apparatus for spraying liquid on the slopes of large piles of bulk material, particularly for spraying dustsuppressing liquid on coal piles. Apparatus comprises a vehicle and a spray buggy, which can be carried on the vehicle. Vehicle is positioned at the top of a pile and includes a hoist for moving the buggy down and up the slopes. Buggy includes a hose, hose reel and spray bar with downwardly directed outlets. Hose is connected to tank truck supplying liquid.

United States Patent I 1 113,628,728

[72] Inventors FrlnkLPolutnlk 2,483,762 10/1949 Ebenhoe 56/13.6X WestMlfllinBorough; 1 1,101,936 6/1914 Johnston..- 239/159 Robert W.West,Baytown,bothot'1ex. 2,801,132 7/1957 Shuckm. 239/189 [21] Appl. No. 31,334 2,306,231 12/1942 Smith et a1 280/479 X [22] Filed Apr. 23, 1970 2,571,361 10/195 1' Harmanson 214/523 [45] Patented Dec. 2], 1971 3,103,288 9/1963 Pruss 280/401 X [73] Assignee United States Steel Corporation 184,956 12/1876 Delaney 239/197 X Primary ExaminerM. Henson Wood, Jr. 541 SPRAYING METHOD AND APPARATUS 5 chin, 6 m. at Attorney-Walter P. Wood 23 5. 39/199, 2 /479 ABSTRACT: A method and apparatus for spraying liquid on [51] Ill. Cl B051! 9/02 the slopes of large piles of bulk material, particularly for [50] Field 01 Search 23911, 159, spraying dust-suppressing liquid on coal piles. Apparatus com- 189,. 197; 280/401 prises a vehicle and a spray buggy, which can be carried on the 85-1, -5, 523; 2 vehicle. Vehicle is positioned at the top of a pile and includes /1 5 a hoist for moving the buggy down and up the slopes. Buggy includes a hose, hose reel and spray bar with downwardly [56] Rdennm Cited directed outlets. Hose is connected to tank truck supplying UNITED STATES PATENTS liquid. 979.382 12/1910 Coonradt 2391191 25 lo 13 I 4.0 I

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SHEET 1 BF 2 FRANK J. POLUTN/K and ROBERT Hf WEST my 14M PATENTEU 0582! ml 3528123 SHEET 2 OF 2 PIE- '5 INVENTORS FRANK J. POLUTN/Kund ROBERT ll WEST their llrarney SPRAYING METHOD AND APPARATUS This invention relates to an improved method and apparatus for spraying liquids on the slopes of large piles of bulk material Although our invention is not thus limited, our method and apparatus are particularly useful for spraying liquids on the sloping sides of large coal piles to allay dust. Plants which use coal in large quantities commonly store the coal out of doors in piles as much as I feet in height. Coal piles of such size tend to be dusty and to pollute the surrounding atmosphere with coal dust. A common practice has been to spray a suitable liquid, such as coal tar, over the pile to suppress dust. The spraying operation has been largely manual and much of the slope area of the pile has been inaccessible to the sprayers. A typical large coal pile has slopes which are 85 to 125 feet in length. Manual sprayers can reach only the top 40 feet and bottom 30 feet of such a slope.

An object of our invention is to provide an improved spraying method and apparatus which enable liquid to be applied to the entire area of a long slope.

A further object is to provide a spraying apparatus which ineludes a spray buggy adapted to move down and up a long slope, and a platform vehicle which carries means for positioning and propelling the buggy, thereby mechanizing the operation.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of our apparatus hitched to a tank truck with the trailer carrying the spray buggy;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the apparatus in operation spraying a slope of a pile of bulk material;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of the apparatus on a larger scale with the trailer carrying the buggy;

FIG. 4 is side elevational view of the trailer with the buggy taken off;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the buggy; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the hose reel.

Our apparatus comprises essentially a vehicle 10 and a spray buggy 12. Preferably the vehicle is a platform trailer which we hitch to a conventional tank truck 13. The truck then serves both to tow the trailer when we move the apparatus between locations, and to supply liquid for spraying. Nevertheless, it is apparent we could use a self-propelled vehicle in place of a trailer. We construct the vehicle so that it may carrythe buggy, as FIGS. 1 and 3 show.

The trailer 10 illustrated includes a structural steel frame 15, a platform 16 mounted on the frame, a pair of rubber-tired wheels 17 supporting the frame, and a hitch 18 fixed to the front end of the frame. The front portion of the platform carries a drive means 19, which preferably is an internal combustion engine and has a fuel tank 20. A hoist 21 is operatively connected with the engine through a suitable power transmission and clutch means, the housing of which is shown at 22. The hoist is equipped with a suitable brake which we operate manually through a brake lever 23. The foregoing parts per se may be of conventional construction and hence are not shown in detail.

The platfonn 16 carries a boom 25 which is pivoted thereto on a horizontal axis and can swing between forward and rearward positions shown in FIGS. 3'and 4 respectively. The platform carries a pair of upstanding spring-loaded shock absorbers 26 fixed thereto and located between the hoist and pivot. The front of the boom has a pair of contact plates 27 which are fixed thereto and rest on the shock absorbers when the boom swings to its forward position. The back of the boom has a pair of legs 28 which are fixed thereto and rest on the platform 16 when the boom swings to its rearward position. We also connect a safety chain 29 between the platform 16 and boom 25 to assist in supporting the boom in its rearward position. We mount a tubular spring housing 30 on platform 16 extending fore and aft of the boom pivot. Housing 30 contains a tension spring 31 which is fixed at its ends to front end of the housing and to one end of a wire rope 32. The latter extends around a pulley 33 near the rear of the platform and is connected at its other end to the boom. Thus the spring urges the boom to its rearward position. We place the boom in its forward position to enable the rear portion of the platform to carry the buggy 12. We swing the boom to its rearward position while the apparatus is used to spray.

Boom 25 carries outer and inner sheaves 37 and 38 journaled adjacent its free end, and preferably a guard 39 for the sheaves. A wire rope 40 from the hoist 21 extends over the outer sheave 37, around a sheave 41 on the buggy 12, back over the inner sheave 38, around a sheave 42 on the platform 16, and back to the boom, where it is dead ended.

The buggy 12 includes a frame 44, a frame stabilizer 45 under the front portion of the frame, and a pair of dual rubbertired wheels 46 mounted on an axle 47 intermediate the length of the frame. The midportion of the axle includes a conventional differential 47'. The stabilizer serves to support the front end of the buggy whenever the buggy is unloaded from the trailer and the rope 32 is not tensioned. We journal the aforementioned sheave 41 to the front end of frame 44. Above and slightly forward of the wheels 46 the frame carries a pair of opposed bearing stands 48 in which we journal a hose reel 49. The reel carries a flexible hose 50, the free end of which extends to a pump on the tank truck 13. The reel has a tubular shaft 51 to which we connect the other end of the hose. Shaft 51 terminates in a swivel joint 52 to which we connect a rearwardly extending pipe 53. The back end of frame 44 carries a horizontal transversely extending spray bar 54 which has a plurality of downwardly directed outlets 55 spaced along its length We connect the back or outlet end of pipe 53 with this spray bar. Frame 44 and stands 48 carry a series of guides 56, 57 and 58 for the hose 50.

The hose reel 49 is driven from the wheels 46. The driving connection includes a main drive pulley 59 connected to differential 47. We journal a longitudinal shaft 60 to the top of one of the bearing stands 48. The back end of shaft 60 carries a driven pulley 61 connected thereto through a conventional cam clutch or ratchet device 62. A suitable cam clutch is available commercially from Morse Chain Co. as their "200 Series Cam Clutch." The front end of shaft 60 is connectedto the hose reel 49 through bevel gears 63. Pulleys 59 and 61 lie in a common plane, and a belt 64 extends around them. We mount an adjustable tensioning pulley 6S for the belt in frame 44.

As already mentioned, boom'25 occupies its forward position when trailer 10 carries buggy 12. At this time the rope 40 is fully taken up on the hoist 21, and the hoist brake is set. To anchor the buggy more securely, the boom 25 and buggy frame 44 preferably carry cooperating coupling elements 67 and 68. The-coupling element 67 on the boom is a plate of U- shape in cross section, while the coupling element 68 on the buggy is a similar plate of inverted U-shape in cross section. The two coupling elements interengage automatically when the buggy is loaded on the platform 10, as shown in FIG. 3, and separate automatically when the boom swings rearwardly as the buggy is unloaded from the platform.

According to our spraying method, we prepare a large pile 72 of material for spraying by forming a windrow 73 approximately 1 foot high around the periphery at the top, as shown in FIG. 2. We drive the tank truck 13 with the trailer 10 hitched thereto to the top of the pile. The trailer carries the buggy 12 on its platform 16. We back the trailer against the windrow 73 and start the engine 19 on the trailer, but at first shift it to a neutral position.

We operate the brake lever 23 to release the brake. The spring-loaded shock absorbers 26 start to swing the boom 25 toward its rearward position. After the boom is approximately upright, it continues to swing rearwardly under the action of spring 31. The coupling elements 67 and 68 automatically disengage and allow the buggy to drop from the trailer. The buggy runs down the slope of the pile 72 to the bottom. We control its movement by partially applying the hoist brake. The cam clutch 62 disengages automatically, whereby the hose reel 49 becomes freewheeling as the buggy moves down the slope. We do not spray as the buggy goes down.

When the buggy reaches the bottom of the pile, we bring it to a stop with the hoist brake. We operate the pump on the tank truck to supply liquid to the hose 50 and then to the outlets 55 on the spray bar 54. The outlets are located about 18 inches above the surface of the material. lf the spray liquid is coal tar, we have found it satisfactory to heat the tar to a temperature of about l70 to 190 F. and operate at a pressure of about 60 to 80 p.s.i.g. We release the hoist brake, and shift the engine 19 into driving relation with the hoist 21. The hoist takes up the rope 40 and thus pulls the buggy up the slope. The wheels 46 drive the reel 49 through the differential 47', whereby the reel takes up the hose. The earn clutch allows slippage to compensate for the changing circumference of the reel as the hose builds up thereon. When the buggy returns to the top of the pile, we stop the pump. The coupling elements 67 and 68 again engage. The buggy climbs back on the trailer, the boom 25 of which switches to its forward position. The shock absorbers 26 ease the shock as the buggy comes to rest. We shift the apparatus to a new position, and repeat the foregoing steps as many times as necessary to spray the whole slope area.

We regulate the quantity of tar by regulating the speed at which the spray buggy travels up the slope or by regulating the output of the pump on the tank truck 13, or both. Time cheeks show that a buggy can spray a 12 foot wide 85 foot long path in 20 to 25 seconds, and can spray about 40 gallons of tar on the 1,020 square foot area. Hence our invention enables the whole slope area of a large pile of coal or other material to be sprayed quickly and easily.

We claim:

1. An apparatus for spraying liquid on the slopes of a large pile of bulk material comprising a vehicle and a spray buggy, said vehicle being adapted to carry said buggy;

said vehicle including a drive means, a hoist operatively connected with said drive means, and flexible means which winds on said hoist;

said buggy including a frame, wheels supporting said frame,

a hose reel journaled to said frame, means operatively connected with said wheels and with said reel for driving the reel from said wheels, a hose which winds on said reel, a spray bar carried by said frame and connected to said hose, and a plurality of downwardly directed outlets on said bar;

said flexible means being connected with said buggy,

whereby said hoist is operable to lower and raise said buggy along a slope.

2. An apparatus for spraying liquid on the slopes of a large pile of bulk material comprising a platform trailer and a spray buggy, the platform of said trailer being adapted to carry said ss said trailer including a drive means, a hoist operatively connected with said drive means, a boom pivoted to the platform to swing on a horizontai axis between forward and rearward positions, flexible means which winds on said hoist and is connected with said boom to move the boom to its forward position when said buggy is on the platform, and means connected to said boom to swing it to its rearward position when said buggy leaves the platform;

said buggy including a frame, wheels supporting said frame,

a hose reel journaied to said frame, a hose which winds on said reel, a spray bar carried by said frame and connected to said hose, and a plurality of downwardly directed outlets on said bar;

said flexible means being connected to said buggy, whereby,

said hoist is operable to lower and raise said buggy along a slope.

3. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which said boom and the frame of said buggy carry cooperable coupling means for retaining said buggy on said trailer.

4. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which said trailer includes shock absorbers engaged by said boom when it swings to its forward position.

5. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the means for lOlOlS 0334 

1. An apparatus for spraying liquid on the slopes of a large pile of bulk material comprising a vehicle and a spray buggy, said vehicle being adapted to carry said buggy; said vehicle including a drive means, a hoist operatively connected with said drive means, and flexible means which winds on said hoist; said buggy including a frame, wheels supporting said frame, a hose reel journaled to said frame, means operatively Connected with said wheels and with said reel for driving the reel from said wheels, a hose which winds on said reel, a spray bar carried by said frame and connected to said hose, and a plurality of downwardly directed outlets on said bar; said flexible means being connected with said buggy, whereby said hoist is operable to lower and raise said buggy along a slope.
 2. An apparatus for spraying liquid on the slopes of a large pile of bulk material comprising a platform trailer and a spray buggy, the platform of said trailer being adapted to carry said buggy; said trailer including a drive means, a hoist operatively connected with said drive means, a boom pivoted to the platform to swing on a horizontal axis between forward and rearward positions, flexible means which winds on said hoist and is connected with said boom to move the boom to its forward position when said buggy is on the platform, and means connected to said boom to swing it to its rearward position when said buggy leaves the platform; said buggy including a frame, wheels supporting said frame, a hose reel journaled to said frame, a hose which winds on said reel, a spray bar carried by said frame and connected to said hose, and a plurality of downwardly directed outlets on said bar; said flexible means being connected to said buggy, whereby, said hoist is operable to lower and raise said buggy along a slope.
 3. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which said boom and the frame of said buggy carry cooperable coupling means for retaining said buggy on said trailer.
 4. An apparatus as defined in claim 2 in which said trailer includes shock absorbers engaged by said boom when it swings to its forward position.
 5. An apparatus as defined in claim 1 in which the means for driving said reel includes a cam clutch which disengages automatically as the buggy runs down a slope, whereby the reel is freewheeling as it goes down. 